School Fire Blamed On Cord

Stranahan Classes To Resume Despite Blaze That Gutted Building

July 25, 1994|By SALLIE JAMES Staff Writer

FORT LAUDERDALE — A short circuit in a pinched extension cord is blamed for sparking a fire that gutted 12 vacant rooms in a building on the campus of Stranahan High School, a fire official said on Sunday.

More than 100 firefighters from 10 fire departments worked three hours early Sunday morning to bring the fire under control, Fire Battalion Chief Stephen McInerny said. Few fires in city history have required so many firefighters, he said.

The fire caused an estimated $300,000 damage to the two-story building at 1800 SW Fifth Place, McInerny said.

Even so, the campus is expected to be ready at 7:30 this morning for more than 700 students who attend summer classes there. No classes are held in the building where the fire broke out, Stranahan Principal Patricia Camer on said.

The 30-year-old building housed ad ministration and guidance offices, but no one has been using it because of on going renovations and asbestos removal, Cameron said. No records were damaged because they had been moved to another building.

The renovation created problems for firefighters, who were blocked from the blaze by vinyl tarps that were hung throughout the second floor for asbestos removal.

Firefighters had to slice through two layers of the vinyl to reach the fire.

"It was probably one of the most difficult fires we ever fought," McInerny said.

"The tarps really aggravated it and made the situation much more complex and dangerous because they held in all the heat," he said. "It was like fighting a fire in a sauna."

The hot, smoky air caused firefighters to empty their air tanks almost as fast as they could fill them, even with an extra air truck from Plantation Fire Department.

"We had firefighters standing in line waiting for air," McInerny said. "It was like a bucket brigade with air bottles."

On Sunday, fire inspectors picked through the rubble trying to pinpoint the cause, while firefighters doused hot spots that flared up.

McInerny said the fire was caused by a plugged-in extension cord that had been draped over the door of a second-floor classroom. The cord shortcircuited where it was crimped by a door.

Fort Lauderdale resident Melinda Heath, 19, reported the fire after she smelled smoke when she drove past the school about 11:30 p.m. Saturday.

"I smelled something burning as we approached the stop sign in front of the school, then I saw a light fog around the auditorium and thought, `Oh my God, the school is on fire,'" Heath said. "When I got home, I called police."

Firefighters arrived to find flames flickering on the second floor and thick smoke billowing from the building. They had to cut a lock off an iron gate, then drag hoses across the school's front yard and up steps to get water in to fight the fire.

Fire investigators think the fire had been burning about 30 minutes before it was reported.

Driver/engineer Al Dow, Fire Lt. Ted Silvia and firefighter Stan Giesey were treated at Broward General Medical Center for heat exhaustion and released. Lt. Joe Battaglia and firefighter Danielle Coaches were treated at the scene for the same thing, McInerny said.

It was unclear on Sunday if the fire alarm system in the building was not functioning or had been disconnected because of the renovation, McInerny said.